Window carton



1960 M. L. WAGAMAN 2,948,390

' wmnow CARTON Filed June 23, 1959 a I 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig.2

INVENTOR. Merle L. Wagaman Armmeys M. L. WAGAMAN WINDOW CARTON Aug. 9,1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 23, 1959 INV ENT OR.

% Merle L. Wagaman 2,948,390 Patented Aug. 9, 1 960 ice wnsnow CARTONMerle, L. Wagaman, Lynwood, Califi, assignor to Fibreboard PaperProducts Corporation, San Francisco, Calif, a corporation of DelawareFiled June 23, 1959,Ser.No. 822,286. i

'8 Claims. to 206 4'5.31)

This application relates to window cartons and, more particularly, tocartons having window openings therein extending into a vertical Wall sothat the contents of the cartons can be inspected through the windowwhile the cartons are stacked with only the vertical wall exposed.

Previous efforts have been made. to display baked goods and othereye-appealing products by use of paperboard cartons having windowopenings therein, but where it is desired to stack the cartons forconservation of dis-. play or storage space, it becomes necessary toprovide a window opening in at least one of the exposed vertical;panels. Since, when the cartons are stacked, the ve rtical panelssupport the'weight of cartons stacked above,

the provision of a window opening in a vertical panel ordinarilyentails'the sacrifice of the cartons load-carry- 30 ing ability. v r Itis, thereforepan object of this invention to provide a display or windowcarton with a vertical window panel,

but having suflicient strength to support cartons stacked thereonr- Itis a further object of thisinvention toprovidea carton having a verticalwindow opening whichis reinforced for additional strength withoutrequiring any appreciable increase in time and expense of manufacture.

It is afurther object of'this invention to provide'a reinforcement for aload-carrying cartonpanel which may be applied concurrently with theapplication of a transparent window panel. I

In carrying out this invention, window opening which extends 'intothevertical panel is formed as a flap to be folded downwardly and affixedthe panel to receive and aifix the transparent window panel.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will. become apparentfrom the specification following when,

read in connection with the drawings afiixed hereto wherein:

Fig. 1 is an isometric view of a carton embodying fea tures of theinvention;

Fig. 2 is a partial section view taken along line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of a carton blank embodying features of theinvention; and

Fig. 4 is an elevation view of a stack of the cartons.

Referring now to the drawings, I show a carton 1, the generalconstruction of which is more or less conventional, being formed frompaperboard or the like and having bottom and top panels 2 and 3, sidepanels 4 and closure flaps 5 and 6. Interconnecting the bottom and toppanels 2 and 3 is a front panel 7 having corner flaps 8 thereon which,in assembly, are secured to the the lower edge of the? v side panels 4by adhesive or any other suitable means.

A Window opening 10 having a transparent panel 11 thereacross is formedin the top panel and extends at 1011 down into the front panel 7 topermit inspection of the cartons contents whether it be disposed flat orstacked with other like cartons, as shown in Fig. 4. It is the structureof this window opening to which my invention is particularly directed.

When the window opening 10 is die cut, an extension 10a in the verticalpanelportion thereof is provided to increase visibility of the cartonscontents without unnecessarily sacrificing strength as by making theentire width of the window opening full depth. Because'the windowextension would normally impair the strength of the vertical panel 7, Iform the window extension during die-cutting by cutting a reinforcingflap'12 which is simultaneously scored at 13 so that it may be foldeddownwardly over the inside of the vertical panel 7 to provide 'a doublethickness therein below the window opening extension. When thereinforcing flap is formed, i.e. in

a single die cut operation, a series of notches or holes the cartonblank presenting an obstacle to adhesion of 14 are cut in the edgethereof for a purpose to be hereinafter described;

,ConventionallY, the outer surface 1a of'the carton blank is 'coatedorglazed with a plastic or other moisture resistant substance.

Since the glazed side of the carton blank 1a also resists the usualadhesives applied in liquid state, adhering is done where possible onthe uncoated side 1b of the car ton'blank. Consequently, the transparentfilm 11 of the reinforcing flap 12 folded down, its adhesive-resistantsurface la'is exposed upwardly on the inner surface of thetransparentfilm. An important feature of this invention resides in the attachmentof the reinforcing flap 12 and transparent film 11.

The notches or perforations 14 .with intervening tabs 15, in thereinforcing flap 12 and a peripheral line of adhesive 16 applied to theinner surface 1b of the carton are so situated relative to the-scoreline 13 of the flap that. when the flap is folded downwardly the line ofadhesive 16 applied to the carton blank and the reinforcement flap 12folded downward, the adhesive will underlie.

alternately. a tab 15 and a perforation 14. Then, the transparent film11 is placed across the window opening 10 and over the flap and secureddirectly to the uncoated inside surface lb ofthe vertical panel 7 bymeans of the adhesive 16 exposedthrough the notches of perforations 14.Thus, in a single operation the flap 12 is secured to the panel 7 byattachment of the adhesive to its under surface, including the tabs 15,and the transparent film 11 is secured by the same strip of adhesiveexposed throughlthe notches 14; i With the flap so secured, the strengthof the vertical panel 'is enhanced appreciably so that cartons maybestacked to a considerable height without fear of collapse and resultantdamage of the contents. This, of course, is particularly significantwhere the cartons are employed to display articles susceptible to damageby contact, such as baked goods.

While notches 14 cut in the flap 12 are preferred for simplicity inmanufacture, other openings such as holes may be formed for the samepurpose.

It is apparent that other modifications and changes in detail may bemade to this invention without departing from the spirit and scopethereof which is intended to be limited only by the claims appendedhereto.

What is claimed as new is:

including a pair of adjacent hingedly connected wall panels, a windowopening extending into both of said panels across the hingedconnectiontherebetween, a coating of adhesive applied to one side of said sheetmaterial in a peripheral line around said window opening, a reinforcingstrip on said one side adjacent to said window opening, said reinforcingstrip having at least one perforation therethrough overlying saidadhesive to expose said adhesive therethrough, a film of transparentsheet material covering said window opening and secured to said panelsby said peripheral strip of adhesive, said window being secured oversaid reinforcement strip by the adhesive exposed through saidperforation.

.2. A carton blank formed from sheet material and including a pair ofhingedly connected wall panels, a window opening extending into both ofsaid panels across the hinged connection therebetween, an adhesiveapplied to one side of said sheet material in a peripheral line aroundsaid window opening, a reinforcing flap on one of said panels adjacentsaid window opening adapted to be folded back on said one side thereofand secured thereto by said adhesive, said reinforcing flap havingperforations therethrough overlying said adhesive to expose portions ofsaid adhesive therethrough, and a transparent film covering said windowopening and secured to said sheet material by said adhesive, said filmbeing secured over said reinforcing flap by the portions of saidadhesive exposed through said perforations.

3. A carton blank formed from sheet material having an uncoated surfaceand an adhesive resistant coated surface, said carton blank including apair of hingedly connected wall panels, a window opening extending intoboth of said panels across the hinged connection therebetween, anadhesive applied in a peripheral line on the uncoated side of said sheetmaterial around said window opening, a reinforcing flap on one of saidpanels adjacent said window opening folded back onto the uncoated sideof said one panel and secured thereto by said adhesive, said reinforcingflap having perforations therethrough overlying said adhesive to exposeportions of said adhesive therethrough, and a transparent film coveringsaid window opening and secured to the uncoated side of said sheetmaterial by said adhesive, said film being secured over said reinforcingflap by said exposed portions of the adhesive.

4. A carton formed from sheet material and including a generally uprightpanel and an adjacent generally horizontal panel, a window openingextending from said gen-v erally horizontal panel down into said uprightpanel with the lower edge thereof spaced above the lower edge of saidupright panel, a reinforcing flap carried on said upright panel by ahinged connection forming at least a portion of the lower edge of saidwindow opening, a coating of adhesive applied around said windowopening, said reinforcing flap being folded down against said uprightpanel and secured to the inner surface thereof by said adhesive, saidreinforcing flap having perforations therethrough exposing portions ofsaid adhesive, and a transparent film secured to said panels around saidwindow opening by said adhesive, said film being secured 4- over saidreinforcing flap by said exposed portions of the adhesive.

5. A carton formed from sheet material having an inner uncoated surfaceand an outer adhesive resistant coated surface, said carton including agenerally upright panel and an adjacent generally horizontal panel witha hinged connection therebetween, a window opening extending from saidgenerally horizontal panel across said hinged connection and down intosaid upright panel with the :lower edge thereof spaced above the loweredge of said upright panel, a reinforcing flap carried on said uprightpanel by a generally horizontal hinged connection forming at least aportion of the lower edge of said window opening, a coating of adhesivearound said window opening on the uncoated inner surface of said sheetmaterial, said reinforcing flap being folded back down against the innersurface of said upright panel .and secured thereto by said adhesive,said reinforcing flap having perforationstherethrough exposing portionsof said adhesive, and a transparent film covering said window andsecured around the edge thereof to said panels by said adhesive, saidfilm being secured-over said reinforcing flap by said exposed portionsof the adhesive.

'6. A carton defined in claim 5 wherein, the outer surface only of saidsheet material has an adhesive-resistant coating thereon whereby saidfilm is secured over the coated surface ofsaid reinforcing flap.

7. In a carton formed of sheet material and including a generallyupright panel having a window therethrough for display of the contentsof said carton while said carton is arranged in a stack of like cartonswith said upright panel under vertical load, the lower edge of saidwindow being spaced from the lower edge of said upright panel, meansincreasing the load carrying capacity of said panel comprising areinforcing flap adjacent said window opening hingedly connected tosaidpanel with the hinge connection forming at least a portion of the loweredge of said window, said flap being folded down against the innersurface of said panel, a coating of adhesive below the lower edge ofsaid window opening securing said flap against said inner surface, saidreinforcing flap having perforations therein overlying said adhesive toexpose portions of said adhesive therethrough, and a transparent filmaffixed to said inner surface'by said adhesive.

8. A carton blank formed from sheet material and including a wall paneladapted to support an external load generally parallel thereto, a windowopening in said panelterminating in a window edge spaced from one edgeof said panel, a coating of adhesive applied tosaid panel alongsaidwindow edge, a reinforcing flap connected to said panel by a hingefold forming at least a portion of said window edge, said reinforcingflap having at least one perforation therethrough overlying saidadhesive to expose portions of said adhesive therethrough, a transparentfilm covering said window opening and secured to said panel by saidadhesive, said film being secured over said reinforcement flap by saidexposed portions of the adhesive.

No references cited.

